Banana Pudding Poke Cake

As you can see, I love me some poke cakes. And now I'm adding another to the list. The inspiration for this next poke cake actually started out at work. I was talking to my good buddy Amanda. We were discussing our fellow co-worker's, Heather, love of Banana Pudding. Seriously, Heather could win the award for biggest fan of Banana Pudding...if there was such a thing. Anyhow, I was telling Amanda about my idea for another poke cake (since she absolutely loves poke cakes too). Now Amanda does not like bananas - at all. She likes the flavor of bananas but not the texture. So the idea of the banana pudding poke cake was born. All the banana pudding flavors you love - in cake form.

This is made without slices of bananas, however, you could certainly add those on there if you like. My husband and I decided we would just add some freshly sliced bananas right on top of our individual pieces of cake which turned out to be a delicious idea. If I had put them on the cake while I was making it, they would have turned brown within a day. It also makes the cake really pretty if you serve the individual slices with a bit of sliced banana and a Nilla Wafer on the side.

Directions:Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9x13 cake.Once cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes.Then, with a wooden spoon handle or some other similarly-sized object, begin poking holes in the cake.

You want the holes to be fairly big so that the pudding has plenty of room to get down in there. Be sure to poke right down to the bottom of the cake.

In a bowl,whisk together instant pudding with 4 cups milk. Stir until all the lumps are gone. Let pudding sit for just about 2 minutes so it has just slightly begun to thicken but not fully set, it should still be easily pourable.

Pour pudding over cake. Taking care to get it into the holes as much as possible.

Spread it all out and using the back of the spoon gently push pudding down into the holes. Put the pudding into the fridge to set and cool.Once your cake has completely cooled, spread on whipped topping.

If you haven't done so already, crush your vanilla wafers.I just place mine in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin.Leave some of the pieces big. It's nice to have a bit of a crunch when you eat the cake.

Spread crushed wafers onto the top of the cake. You can do this part immediately before serving the cake if you like. This will ensure the wafers are crunchy when you serve it.

I think this cake gets more delicious over time.To me, it's even better the next day so it's a great dessert to make ahead of time.Serve with freshly sliced bananas. Keep refrigerated.

254 comments
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Turn your pc volume down if my belly grumbles disturb you! I know I don't comment much anymore but I read all your posts. I MUST try this one. Do you think I could put a layer of sliced bananas between layers of cake better? Or...maybe I could add a couple mushed up nanners in the cake batter before baking??? Just thinking again.

I made banana pudding for my husband the other day and he said it was too sweet. He thought maybe the cream cheese in the recipe was too much. Now I'm on the hunt for a different recipe.......

Peggy Lee! Love hearin from ya girl! You know I have a Nanner Pudding recipe on here right? You should take a gander at it. It's an older recipe and the picture isn't too great on it but it's a recipe I love.You could absolutely add bananas in here. The only reason I didn't is because, around here, it could take us 2-3 days to eat a whole cake. So I didn't want the bananas to brown. So when I cut up our slices, I just sliced some bananas right on top of each piece. But you could put bananas right on top of the pudding layer after the pudding cools. Then put your cool whip on top of that!

Hi Brandi, I am going to do this for my husband's birthday next week. One question, this has to be refrigerated, right???? Just wanted to know so I can make room in the refrig! Thanks, I love all of your recipes and have tried many! All were good :-)!!!

Another fabulous creation from your kitchen that makes our mouths water! Congrats on being featured in Top 9 at Foodbuzz! Your accolades just keep rolling in! You deserve every one of them too. I'd weigh a ton if I lived close to you. =)

My husband loves banana pudding but doesn't love the bananas in there so this is perfect. My parents make a cake simular to this and use a straw to poke the holes! Thanks again and I'm in the process of making this cake now!

I know of another poke cake... it's the only dessert I know how to make! Ha! German chocolate cake filled with one can of evaporated milk and carmel sauce/topping... then you mix the thawed cool whip with a cup of carmel topping before topping off with heath bits. It's YUMMY!

Stealing from my recipe above, I wonder if it would taste good to mix the thawed cool whip with a cup of chocolate topping before spreading on this banana pudding poke cake? Banana is great but chocolate banana... um, yeah! :)

I usually bring a supermarket cake to my monthly book club meetings. I've done this so often, the other members make fun of me about it. I made the banana poke cake for my book club meeting last night. HUGE success! Everyone LOVED it! The host wouldn't let me take the leftovers home. He wanted his visiting in-laws to try it! I'm going to try other flavors next time. Thanks for sharing!

Silly question - did you use a 9X9 or a 9X13 baking dish? The dish in the pictures look much more square then rectangle.

I LOVE your blog! I've challenged myself to cook something new for dinner every night this week (hubby and I are tired of the same old recipes). After finding your blog it is going to be so incredibly easy!!

Just finished pouring the pudding on, now in the fridge to cool. Looks so good! I used sugar free pudding with regular cake mix because my husband and his brother are diabetic. Every little bit helps! I hope it's just as good! YUM YUM Thanks for the recipe!

I think you could use the bananas instead of the oil in the cake mix. I just finished the cake for our 4 th party and don't know how it's going to taste, but I used sugar free pudding and light coolwhip so I don't think it's too bad calorie wise. The homemade ice cream I'm making to serve with it is a different story . Lol

I made this cake for the 4th, and was so easy and yummy. It was a big hit with my husband who is usually politely noncommittal about new recipes. He loved it. We talked about making a lemon cake in a similar way, but lo and behold, up pops your recipe for one. Love your recipes. Thank you! Marie in Oklahoma

Love reading all these comments! And I'm so happy to hear of the successes! To answer the question if it can be frozen - I honestly have never tried it so I can't really say for sure how it would taste as it defrosted. I just am not sure how tasty that would be really. If anyone gives it a try - let me know please. :)

I made this tonight like everyone else! I put the nilla wafers on the side, however I put sliced strawberries on top and bananas on the side! It was awesome. I'm not much of a sweets eater but this fit the bill. Thanks for the awesome idea and thanks for sharing. Im somewhat greedy. I can make some great things but never share.

I grew up on these and we used to call them poke n pour cakes !Don't really remember making it in banana flavor though so off to make this flavor now :))Thanks for sharing I too will pass this flavor on!

Had to make this sugar-free for the hubby, so the banana-flavored pudding was unavailable in that option. What I decided to do was to buy the vanilla sugar-free pudding, and then add the bananas to the cake mix instead of the eggs. (Because I forgot to buy the eggs, dontcha know. LOL) And it was fantastic!! So if there are any of you out there who have to roll sugar-free, you can use the sugar-free cake mix with 2 medium bananas in place of the eggs, and sugar-free vanilla pudding for a delicious dessert!! ;)

Thank you for sharing your recipes. I made two last night. This banana cream poke cake and the raviolis. My husband and i loved them both!!! I can't wait for my daycare kids to have the rest of the cake tomorrow for snack... This will guarantee that I don't eat it all myself. *grin*

Made this yesterday and Oh Boy! Couldn't be easier to make and it was a definite hit! And yes, it is better the next day. I doubt seriously it will last until day three, but one can hope!I'm going to try the Boston Cream Poke cake next. My nephew in law loves Boston Cream Pies and this should be just up his alley!Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful recipes with us! You're the best!

all i can say is wow, once a month we have a family sunday,( only way to see everyone, all so busy)I made the banana poke cake,used sf on everything i could(no one could tell,a couple of them say they can always taste the diff.)after a big meal not to many want dessert,so i always have cakes left, but not this time. after a couple tried then saying how good it was, then others had to try.I didn't get but a little bite,ooohh so good.gonna make the coconut one next month..think i need to make 2 huh?

Brandie ~ I have never seen a Poke Cake before coming across your chocolate Oreo Poke cake on Pinterest. I decided to use Rainbow Chip cake mix (since I had it in the cupboard) and banana cream pudding! Then I found this recipe and I'm going to add the Cool Whip and crumbled Nilla Wafers. I'm bringing it to my new mother-in-law's house for a family picnic she is having.

I made this last week and it was AMAZING!!! This morning I made a variation using strawberry cake,cheesecake flavored pudding and graham crackers. Its cooling in the fridge and I can WAIT!!! Thanks for a fast, easy, affordable go to dessert!!!

Made this yesterday for my DH since we absolutely LOVE Banana Puddin, we're in the south who doesn't?!?! LOL The only variation was I added some vanilla extract to the pudding itself & sliced banana's ontop of the pudding. You are right the crunch def adds to it. This was SOOOOOOOOO delicious all the guys in the house ate it up in less than 24hours. I was told this is def a must-do REPEAT!! Thank you soo much for making the guys in our house happy!! :D

I have my cake in the oven baking. I cant wait i'm taking it to work tomorrow hope they love it. When i mix my pudding im gonna sub some of the milk for a can of eagle brand. Hope its not over kill but anything with eagle brand is awesome, right?

Just made this today. My husband and I love it. The part I hated most about my regular recipe was that the bananas and wafers getting soggy. This is perfect especially when their added as needed. Thanks!!

Made this today,first time ever making a poke cake and it was so amazing! Think I may have to make another tomorrow. I ended up using 1 box banana and the other coconut puddings,my mistake when buying them. Also I added sliced bananas over the pudding then the cool whip,then sprinkled the top with the crushed vanilla wafers AND toasted some coconut. OMG!!! Everyone loved it! Thank you for sharing the recipes :)

I found this recipe on Pinterest (where else - LOL) and decided to try it. I made it last week and took it to work for a birthday. It was a big hit. So easy, and so yummy. Thanks for the idea. Now to see what other "poke" cakes I can dream up!

I made this for a family dinner today and it was fabulous. My daughter loved it because her favorite part of banana pudding is the Nilla wafers so I put a layer of the minis between the pudding and Cool Whip. Can't wait to try the Red Velvet poke cake! Thanks for sharing.

I help the ladies at my church make quilts. We always take a break and have some sort of snack. We take turns bringing in baked goods. So I am always on the lookout for easy and delicious recipes! This one is super yummy! I can't wait to try different flavored cake mixes and puddings too! Thanks soo much!

I made this cake to celebrate someone's birthday at work. I had every intention of posting a pic of it however by the time I got my camera they had already torn into it. Needless to say the cake had a life span of about 45 minutes as folks went back for multiples. I'm definitely making this again.

I made this last night for this weekend because the kids are out of school. I left the crushed vanilla wafer layer off because we were worried about them holding up in the fridge. I served it tonight with some sliced banana and a few vanilla wafers on the side and the boys loved it! Thanks for the recipe!

I got everything to make this recipe, but I thought it called for (1) package of pudding mix... I made this for the first time with 1 package of pudding instead of 2, and it worked great! Since I didn't have tons of pudding to spare, I poured it gently into all my holes I poked in the cake. Had enough to fill all the holes, and a nice thin layer on top! So if you can only use one package, it works just the same! I loved it, it wasn't too pudding! I thought this ratio worked very well. Plus, I added bananas on top after it cooled, a layer of whip cream, and then the nilla wafers.. I think if I had 2 packages of pudding, I wouldn't have been able to close the lid on the container lol! Thanks for the great recipe, I will be making it again!

l make this with cherry chip cake mix..poke holes...make cherry jello with half the water...chill intil just starting to thicken and pour into holes...1 package vanilla pudding and 1 package dream whip made according to package direction in the same bowl...spread over top and chill..refreshing in the summer

There is a strawberry version, my moms been making it for years, also a pineapple one to. Same as above but u pour the frozen strawberries in the holes, the ones that come in the carton, then add the pudding, then the whip cream, for the pineapple one get crushed pineapple in juice pour in holes and then add ur pudding and cool whip. It's awesome! I'm goin to try this one to:).happy eating!

I recently made this since my husband loves banana creme pie. He was nice enough to buy the ingredients for me and he bought banana creme pudding instead of just banana. We thought we had a disaster on our hands because the pudding didn't seem to "sink" into the cake like it should. Plus we also let the pudding set too long. But, it was still very tasty, and even better the next day like you said! And my husband thinks he's spoiled. :)

Thanks for the recipe! I've tried a few from your site and it's always delicious. :)

My son loves banana pudding but can't eat raw bananas. I made the cake and put some mashed ripe bananas into the cake mix (along with the oil) and we got a nice banana flavor in the cake. We are thrilled with the results. Thanks for all your great recipes.

OMG This cake looks amazing! Thanksgiving is next week and I have been looking for something to serve for dessert instead of the traditional apple and pumpkin pies that everyone eats but gets tired of. I think this will be a BIG HIT! I can't wait to make it! And eat it! LOL

I made this cake for Thanksgiving. It was a big hit. Everyone loved it. The only problem was they ate it all and now I have to make another. It was very good and I will make it again many times. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

I made this for the first time at Thanksgiving.Let me just say it was so good I almost slapped my momma..(hehe) My husband called today from work and asked if I would make it for his job tomorrow..It is baking as I type. His favorite cake is the pineapple delight that I make which is almost just like a poke cake but this is closing in almost as a tie. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours.

Like the two comments before mine, I made this for my family Thanksgiving feast. Needless to say, it didnt not last long and was eaten up before all the chocolate desserts. Between the layer of pudding and whipped topping, I put a layer of bananas. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written and it was magically delicious!! Thanks for posting.

This recipe looks awesome! To pour my pudding over the cake, I put about half of the made pudding into a sandwich bag, then cut a small hole into the corner and directly poured it into the holes I had put in my cake, then poured the rest from my bowl over the cake. I found this to be helpful at least :) My cake is currently cooling and am very excited to see how it turns out! :)

I am having a difficult time finding Instant banana pudding..Jello makes a banana cream pudding, is that the same or can it be used in this recipe? Looks like the brand in your photo is unfamiliar to me..do you recall what store that comes from?We have Giant,Safeway, Shopper's Food warehouse, Harris Teeter near by.

Coming over from The Better Baker's blog--oh my gosh this is probably my favorite poke cake idea ever! I'm obsessed with banana pudding too and I'm a real cake nut so putting them together is just really my cup of tea. I gotta try this!

Yay! Woo Hoo! So happy this was a hit for you. I really appreciate y'all taking the time to let me know how a recipe turned out for you!Anonymous - you really need to to put the pudding into a warm cake. But I will tell you, you could make this whole thing up and pop it in the fridge the day before you need it. You aren't putting sliced bananas on it so they won't brown and honestly, I think this almost tastes better the day after you make it. I would just wait til the last minute to add the crushed Nilla Wafers on top. Hope that helps! ~Brandie

Hi Brandi... I found your recipt on Pinterest and I made this cake and I wanted to share with you... I made two round cakes (one for BUNCO and one for the family). I put crushed wafers in the bottom of the cake pans, then baked the cake, poked holes and poured on the pudding. About and hour before serving, I sliced banana on top of the cake, then covered with whipped topping, then the crushed wafers again. It was AWESOME!! The BUNCO girls ate it beofre the hostess served dinner! I served the other cake to the family on Saturday night... I have had 5 requests for the recipe! I gave them the link to your website! Thanks for sharing! Toni

I feel like there's something missing from the directions. Two packages of pudding mix plus 4 cups of milk makes a very thin mixture. I stirred it, let it sit, stirred it some more, let it sit... It never thickened up. I thought "What the heck" and poured it in. It was like water and just went to the bottom of the pan (nothing like the picture). I refrigerated it for a while and added the whipped topping and cookies. When we ate it, it was almost like a rum cake, wet on the bottom. I had a friend tell me that the peppermint poke cake she made did the same thing. What are we missing?

Anonymous-Are you sure you used instant pudding? It sounds to me like you used the cook & serve not instant. You are just making the pudding to the instant package directions which is 2 cups cold milk per packet. I hope that helps! -Brandie :)

Where can you buy the instant banana pudding mix? I made the coconut cream poke cake and oh, was it delicious! Melted right in your mouth; you couldn't just eat one piece of that cake..everybody asked for seconds. It was so light and yummy!

Thank you so much to y'all for taking the time to leave me a comment. I am so happy this has been such a good recipe for everyone. Betty - that is so great! I'm so happy the coconut cream poke cake was a success. I believe the Jell-O brand instant pudding is actually called Banana Cream. I can find it at my local Wal-Mart as well as Kroger. Hope that helps! ~Brandie

This is "anonymous from March 2nd" :-). I did you jello instant banana cream pudding. Your recipe says the boxes are 3.4 oz, but they only came in 3 oz, so I only used 3 cups of milk. It was still wayyyy to watery on the bottom. No one else is complaining, so I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. The flavor is awesome, and I'm not a huge banana fan, so I'm determined to figure out what I did wrong! Thanks everyone!

I made this Friday night and let it sit over night in the fridge (without adding the wafers or the cool whip) and it was simply AMAZING the next day! I added the whip in the morning,and just crumbled wafers and added them to the pieces I served. I went strictly by this recipe and had no issues whatsoever!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!

I saw this rotating through facebook and HAD to try it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE banana pudding! whenever my mother makes it my dad and I would literally fight over who got the first bite and last bite out of the dish so when I saw this recipe, yesterday, I HAD TO TRY IT! I just started on it today and i'm letting it refridgerate overnight to make sure my whipped topping is thawed out. omg i can't wait to try it in the morning, my mouth is watering!!

this got me to thinking, I made a cocacola cake on christmas, my sister said I didn't make enough icing.. Poke cocacola cake? and double the icing recipe to make sure there's enough? I think i just might try it!!

Shared this with my banana-pudding-loving husband and promised to make it for his 40th birthday in May. We will be celebrating that after 3 years and 75 pounds lost, that he will hit 40 in the best shape of his life. I think a special yummy treat is well deserved! Thanks for the recipe!

I made this last night... The store only had one box of the bigger size of instant banana cream, so i bought a french vanilla to mix with it and just poured the extra into ramekins to eat separately. I forgot to buy Nilla wafers, but I did buy this new cereal: Peanut Butter Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Put that top, it was amazing!

What do you think about using French Vanilla cake instead of yellow? Also, what about adding sliced bananas on top of the cake, before you pour the pudding...wouldn't that seal out the air and keep them from turning? Hoping to hear back from everyone as I am making this tonight for Easter lunch tomorrow!! Just debating the whole banana situation :)

I made this cake today and my 5 yr old daughter helped by crushing up the wafers for me and she put them on top.. I made it for tomorrow (Easter) but i had to try a little piece to see how it came out... It is really yummy thanks will be making this over and over... my kids love it too... Thanks for great and easy recipes.

Yes, you could certainly use French Vanilla. Whatever you like. Unfortunately, the bananas may still brown. It all depends on how soon you eat this after making. Personally, I think this cake is best when you let it hang out in the fridge overnight.

Thank you so much!!!!! I saw this on facebook, and whenI read it I posted, "I'm making that for Easter"! So, the night before Easter I made this divine dessert and my husband couldn't help but have a little bit. We winded up eating that entire pan! I am making another one right now for guest tomorrow for Easter. I didn't have more banans pudding for the second one, so I'll have to use vanilla pudding and puree 2 bananas. I hope this one turns out just as delicious as the first! Thanks again!

I made this yesterday. It wasn't what I expected. It was better! It was very light and a real crowd pleaser. I will certainly be making it again. I only found your site recently, but I am going to be a repeat visitor for sure. Thanks for all these great recipes!

So glad I found your site!! I saw someone on facebook post this but couldn't find it but found your site through google and I think I'm in love! :) I made this for Easter Sunday and my husband has made a long standing request for this cake for his birthday for the rest of his life lolol I can't wait to try more of your recipes out. Thank you thank you thank you!! :D

This looks amazing and banana pudding is my favorite! Plus my roommate is allergic to chocolate so this could be enjoyed by the whole household. Instead of Cool Whip do you have a cream cheese topping you could recommend please? Would super appreciate it! If you don't think that's a good idea,,please let me know.

I have a "heavenly" sweet tooth :-) however, I am on weight watchers so I was thinking...can I substitute some of the ingredients for light ,sugar free or fat free? Will it make a difference or mess it up? Has anyone tried to make it like this? Thanks

This banana pudding recipe has been in my family for generations. Its delicious and super simple to make.

You will need bananas approximately 4-51 lg box of vanilla pudding made as box directions state1 box of vanilla waferscontainer of whipped topping

Make pudding and let set while you slice up the bananas. Use a deep pan I like to use my tupperwares cake containers lid, its extra deep.First layer the entire bottom with vanilla wafers, next take the pudding and add entire container of whipped topping to it and fold together. Layer over vanilla wafers then put sliced bananas on top of the pudding mixture. Add another layer of vanilla wafers and continue layer pudding and banana slices until you run out of pudding. I always finish mine with pudding and top it off a last layer of vanilla wafers. Cover and refrigerate. Enjoy

I was just going to share the same thing Rosanne shared because your recipe AND picture showed up on my feed from a relative who shared it. I already let my relative know it is a lifted photo and recipe.

I never knew what a "poke cake" was! My mother made this same kind of cake using a white cake mix and pouring strawberry jello over it. She "iced" it with cool whip and garnished with fresh strawberries and peaches. It, too, gets better after sitting in the fridge for at least over night.

My mother made this on Easter at the request of my niece. I'm not a big fan of packaged banana pudding, but this was excellent. After looking up the recipe, I was led to your site, and discovered, that this was the exact recipe that she used. I then found all the other wonderful flavors of poke cakes on your site. This inspired me to try my own combination of flavors. My favorite so far is Strawberry Lemonade, with strawberry cake and lemon pudding, with extra lemon juice of course.

I like experimenting with these "poke" cakes. They are a good way to offer variety in desert without a lot of work. A suggestion I might make would be to substitute milk for the water and melted butter for the oil in the cake mix. This makes a very rich and moist cake. Also, mixing another box of pudding with 1/2 the stated milk and folding in a tub of whipped cream after it has begun to set will carry the flavor theme to the top.

This looks delicious! Unfortunately, I have just found out that Soy Milk does not thicken Jello instant pudding. It works perfectly for regular cooked Jello pudding mix. I went ahead and poured the mixture over the cake, which will definitely be moist!

I made this last night with my three year old. It was simple enough for us to do together and turned out amazing! I even took a plate of it so my parents this morning after refrigerating overnight and they said it was amazing as well! This is my new go to recipe! There is none left!

Thank you for this great idea!!! I tried it today and while it was good I think that the pudding didn't REALLY get into the cake. I think the next time I make this I might add a bit more milk so it is just a bit more liquidy......wait is liquidy a word??? Well you know what I mean! ;) thanks for the nummy treat!

I just made this recipe for my family tonight. DELISH!!! We all loved it. Can't wait to enjoy more tomorrow. Your website is awesome! I am definitely incorporating some of your recipes into our monthly menu. Thank you so much!! :)

Oh my behalf how ever small it may be. Your blog and recipes are one of the best around and recipes even for a beginner cook such as myself is easy to follow and i am greatful you share them. So thank you

Have to say - this was made last night for work today. AMAZING! Everyone loved it. I'm in the low desert in CA and it gets HOT, so this is a refreshing cake, just like the pina colada cake (which as also a hit!)

I Love this recipe idea! My husband loves banana pudding but I can't stand it, something about mushy brown bananas & soggy cookies just turns my stomach! But this recipe will be a perfect mix for us because I love cake & whip cream! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, I made it last night & its currently sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be dessert tonight!! Can't Wait!!

I tried making this 2 hours before I left the house. Silly me didn't realize cool whip has to thaw for 5 hours! Against all warnings, I stirred the cool whip to make it smooth and immediately put it on the cake. I also did 2 9in round pans because I needed desserts for two different places today. It kind of mixed with the pudding, so I'm hoping it will settle in the fridge before we eat it. It looks not so great, but its the taste that counts, right?

I'm in the process of making this cake right now. I love the idea of it, but I'm changing a few things! I love the real bananas, so to make it like taste like the banana pudding I'm used to I'm using yellow cake, vanilla pudding, a layer of sliced bananas and then the cool whip layer and then the vanilla wafer layer. Thank you so much for the idea! I really hope this turns out as well as it looks.

Made this for our church homecoming. Banana pudding has always been my favorite desert...not anymore...get out of my fridge banana pudding, here comes banana pudding poke cake. This will definitely go to all church & family gatherings with my from this day forward. Taste better the longer the left overs last...Time is a friend to this desert...

I made this last night to follow the act that is the Meatball Sub Casserole. The casserole was so great, we ate too much of it so I haven't actually tasted the cake yet. Don't worry... I'll be tearing into it in just a few minutes. (All of this stuff is extremely detrimental to my quest of getting into my wedding dress, by the way! But everything is just so doggone GOOD!)

Now, I made a couple of changes, & I hope that it still turned out ok. I love banana pudding just as much as the next Alabama girl, but I absolutely DETEST banana-flavored stuff (love bananas, but hate banana-flavored stuff -- it never tastes like banana to me -- go figure). I used vanilla pudding instead, & I actually poured it into each hole before covering the entire cake. After the pudding was set, I put a layer of vanilla wafers, & then a layer of bananas on top of that, & then covered w/the Cool Whip. We'll see pretty soon if it's still yummy, & I'll post a reply later.

Yummy is sooooo NOT the word for how this turned out... I don't think the right word exists for it. It was totally scrumptious!!! And it really tasted like banana pudding! So, when I cut the first piece, it completely fell apart when I tried to lift it out of the pan. It didn't matter. The second piece came out just fine. My hubby-to-be was a little skeptical about it at first, but I let him taste some of that crumbled up piece & he loved it. I cut him a piece (completely intact), & when he got it he smashed it up before eating it! WONDERFUL recipe!!!

This was so yummy! My family is from the dad's side of the family is from the south and we all grew up on Banana pudding. I made this for a family dinner and it was a huge hit! The only think I did wrong was I let the pudding set a little too long so it didn't get all the way down the cake (toddler distracted me), but it was still sooooo good!

There is a poke cake like this in an old recipe book that my grandmother gave me years back, submitted by one of the ladies. She called it a Quilt Cake. German chocolate cake mix as directed. In the holes, pour one jar of caramel ice cream topping and one can of sweetened condensed milk. Good thing is, you can pour right into holes.After chilled, top with cool whip then shaved chocolate. You could use other ice cream toppings. We tried it once with butterscotch. I am looking forward to trying this banana pudding recipe!

I love this cake! I follow the directions EXCEPT I don't put the whipped cream on it until I'm ready to serve it. I don't like 'runny' whipped cream. (Of course the first time I made this it didn't last long enough to get runny!

I'm thinking about trying stabilized whipped cream on the one I'm going to make today and see how that works out for me.